Adjusting devices for adjustable members such as rollers



Feb. 21, 1956 T. ROWLANDSY ETAL 2,735;732

ADJUSTING nsvxcss FOR ADJUSTABLE MEMBERS suca AS ROLLERS Filed March 6,195's 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 //VVENTOES 010M 5, 014m ATTORNEYS Feb. 21, 1956T. ROWLANDS ETAL 2,735,732

ADJUSTING DEVICES FOR ADJUSTABLE MEMBERS SUCH AS ROLLERS Filed March 6,1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS United States Patent ADJUSTING DEVICESFOR ADJUSTABLE MEMBERS SUCH AS ROLLERS Tom Rowlands and Frank EgremontDobson, Deptford, London, England, assignors to Molins Machine CompanyLimited, London, England, a British company Application March 6, 1953,Serial No. 340,849 Claims priority, application Great Britain March 18,1952 5 Claims. (Cl. 308-60) a pair of opposed corrugating rollers whichco-operate to form corrugations in the web. The corrugating rollers aregrooved lengthwise to form teeth suitably shaped to impart corrugationsof the desired shape to the web when the latter is pressed between thetwo rollers. The rollers must be adjustable to vary the clearancebetween their respective teeth, and usually one roller is on a fixedaxis while the other is movable for the purpose of adjustment, and alsoas a safety measure in case an undue thickness of material, or a foreignbody, should pass between the two rollers.

Usually the rollers are so set that the minimum clearance between theteeth is somewhat less than the thickness of the web of material beingused, and the adjustable roller is resiliently pressed towards the otherto squeeze the web of material between the opposed teeth of the rollers.

The rollers are normally set so as to produce the maximum squeeze andthe maximum depth of corrugation in the paper board. In some cases,however, it is desirable to be able to reduce the pressure on the boardand even to reduce the depth of corrugation. For example, some paper ofinferior quality cannot be corrugated beyond a certain depth withoutcracking or breaking, and when such board is used it is necessary tolimit the depth of the corrugations to the maximum which can besatisfactorily imparted to the particular paper being used. This can bedone by altering the setting of the rollers so as to increase theclearance between their respective teeth.

Although, as mentioned above, one of the corrugating rollers isadjustable towards and away from the other to vary the clearance whenpapers of different thickness are used, usually the arrangements formaking these adjustments require that the machine should be stopped andthe adjustable roller re-set to obtain the correct clearance for aparticular thickness of paper about to be used. In the case of paperwhich, due for example to its inferior quality, is to be corrugated onlyto a limited depth, the conditions which determine the required settingof the rollers may vary from time to time during running, even thoughthe material being used is all of the same thickness, and generallyspeaking the only satisfactory way of determining the correct setting atany given time is to observe the quality of the corrugated board beingproduced and to adjust the adjustable roller to give the Smallestclearance which will produce satisfactory corrugations in the paperwhich at that time is being fed through the rollers. It-will be realisedthat if frequent changes are required, due for example to frequentvariations in the quality of the paper being fed to the machine, a greatdeal of time would be wasted in repeatedly stopping the machine to maketrial adjustments.

It is therefore desirable that the setting of the corrugating rollersshould be adjustable while the machine continues to operate.

According to the present invention there is provided a device foradjustably determining the position of an adjustable roller relativelyto that of an opposed roller, comprising a member connected with themounting for the adjustable roller and yieldable endwise to allow thelatter to be pressed away from the said opposed roller, and resilientpressure means (e. g. a compression spring) opposing such yieldingmovement, wherein the said member comprises a screw engaging with athreaded part which holds the said member against endwise movementtowards the said opposed roller, and wherein there is provided means tocause relative rotary movement between the said screw and the saidthreaded part, whereby the said member can be moved endwise to adjustthe position of the adjustable roller.

The said threaded part may comprise a nut carrying a wormwheel which isengageable with a worm, the said nut being urged in a directionlengthwise of the said member by the said resilient pressure meansagainst a fixed stop, and capable of moving away from said stop againstthe said resilient pressure if the adjustable roller is pressed awayfrom the said opposing roller.

Where, as in corrugating machines, the rollers employed are very large,it is convenient to mount the bearings for the adjustable roller onpivoted arms so that the roller is adjusted towards or away from theopposed roller by swinging about the pivots. In that case it will beseen that the aforesaid member secured to the roller will not move in astraight line. In order to allow for this, the said member may bepivotally connected to the bearings of the adjusting roller or to a partof the mounting therefor to permit rocking of the member when it ismoved lengthwise by the nut, and the nut may comprise a convex surfaceengaging a corresponding concave seating formed on the said fixed stop,so arranged as to permit the nut to rock about the centre of thewormwheel, whereby the latter can remain in operative engagement withthe worm in different angular positions of the said member. Tofacilitate such engagement the teeth of the wormwheel may be curved toan arc about the centre of the wormwheel.

The adjustable roller may be provided with a pair of adjusting devicesaccording to the invention, one at each end of the roller, and the twodevices may be capable of being operated either independently or inconcert. For this purpose the worms included in the two devices may bemounted on a common shaft, one of the worms being rotatable relativelyto the shaft for rotation independently of the other worm, and capableof being locked on the shaftso as to be rotated by the shaft in concertwith the other worm.

Apparatus according to the invention will now be described by way ofexample with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a corrugating machine embodying theinvention;

Figure 2 is a sectional elevation of a part of Figure 1 in the region ofthe arrow A.

Referring to the drawings two corrugating rollers 1 and 2 are mountedfor co-operation, the roller 1 being on a fixed axis 3 while the axis 4of the roller 2 is movable both for the purpose of adjustment and toallow the roller 2 to be pressed away from the other in the event thatan undue thickness of material, or a foreign body, should pass betweenthe rollers. The movable roller is referred to herein as the adjustableroller.

The adjustable roller has journals 5 at its ends which run in bushes orthe like 6 at the ends of a pair of arms 7 pivoted at 8, so that theroller 2 can be moved towards 3 and away from the roller 1 by swingingmovement of the arms. The two arms may both be swung by the same amount,or one arm may be moved relatively to the other so as to position oneend of the adjustable roller nearer than the other end to the opposedroller.

The position of the adjustable roller is determined by a pair ofadjusting devices, shown in Figure 2, one at each end of the roller.

Each said device comprises a rod 9 pivotally secured at 10 to a part ofthe roller mounting, the rod being pivoted so as to allow it to rockwhen it is moved lengthwise. Beyond the end of the rod remote from theadjustable roller is a very strong compression spring 11 located in afixed housing 12 and arranged to urge the rod lengthwise in a directionsuch as to tend to cause the adjustable roller 2 to move towards theopposed roller 1. The end of the rod against which the spring presses isrounded at 13 and engages a suitably rounded recess in a part 14 towhich the spring is fixed, so as to allow for rocking of the rod. Thespring is capable of being compressed somewhat if the adjustable roller(and hence the rod) is forced outwards by any undue thickness ofmaterial, or a foreign body, which may pass between the rollers.

Between the spring and the roller the rod is provided with a squarethread 15 to form a screw, which passes through a nut 16. The latter isarranged to bear against a fixed stop 17 formed on a fixed part of themachine, the nut being located between the spring and the stop so thatthe endwise pressure of the spring on the rod causes the nut to bepressed firmly against the stop. Thus the nut holds the rod and theadjustable roller against endwise movement towards the opposed roller,while the strong compression spring, although it allows the rod to yieldin the reverse direction, opposes such yielding movement and normallyholds the rod firmly in the endwise position which is determined by thenut.

To enable the nut to be rotated so as to move the rod lengthwise, awormwheel 18 is formed upon it and is arranged to engage a worm 19 whichis rotatable in a manner which will shortly be described. As mentionedabove, the rod, due to the swinging movement of the roller, rocks whenit moves lengthwise. To allow for this rocking movement the surface ofthe nut which engages the stop 17 is made convex and engages acorresponding concave seating in the stop, the co-operating surfacesbeing curved to an are about the centre of the wormwheel, and the partsare so arranged that the rocking of the rod causes the nut to rotateabout that centre. In addition, the teeth of the wormwheel are eachcurved in an are about the centre of the wormwheel. By means of thisarrangement the wormwheel teeth can remain in operative engagement withthe worm for different angular positions of the rod.

A device as just described is provided at each end of the rotatableroller, and the arrangements for rotating the two worms will now bedescribed.

The two worms are carried on a cross-shaft 20 extending across themachine, and at one end of the shaft the worm for one of the adjustingdevices is keyed to the shaft. At the other end the second worm isarranged to be freely rotatable on the shaft, and this worm is integralwith a sleeve 21 on which is formed a handwheel 22. Thus if thishandwheel is turned, one worm is rotated and thus one adjusting deviceis operated independently of the other.

Beyond the worm and handwheel just mentioned, a further handwheel 23 issplined to the shaft 20, and movable lengthwise along it. This furtherhandwheel has a number of dogs 24 formed on its hub which are engageablewith corresponding cross grooves 25 on the hub of the other handwheel22, and if the splined handwheel is slid along the shaft to cause thedogs to enter the cross grooves the two handwheels can be rotated asone-that is, angular movement of either hand wheel causes rotation ofthe shaft and of both of the worms in concert. If the two handwheels aredisengaged from each other, each can be used to rotate one wormindependently of the other. Conveniently the two handwheels are locatedat that end of the shaft which is the more accessible to an operator.

It will be seen that the two devices act jointly to determine theposition of the adjustable roller relatively to that of the opposedroller, and by suitable use of the two handwheels the roller may bemoved bodily or one end can be moved relatively to the other. Inoperation, the roller is first adjusted to a suitable position havingregard to the paper which is to be corrugated. For good quality paperthis may depend'entirely on the thickness of the board, the rollersbeing set with a suitable clearance so as to allow the maximum depth ofcorrugation and in addition to squeeze the paper, the movement of theadjustable roller towards the opposed roller being limited by theengagement of the nuts against the fixed stop. Alternatively, if it isnot desired to press or squeeze the paper, the clearance may be theexact thickness of the paper; or in the case of poor quality paper whichcannot be corrugated to maximum depth without damage, the clearance maybe greater than the thickness of the paper.

Particularly in the last-mentioned case, it is desirable that theoperator should be able to watch the results of the corrugatingoperation as it proceeds and make what adjustments may be necessarywhile the machine continues to run. It will be seen that this can easilybe done by suitable manipulation of one or both of the handwheels, theadjustable roller being moved towards or away from the opposed roller soas to increase or decrease the depth of corrugation according to theresults being obtained.

It sometimes happens that a web of paper is slacker at one side than atthe other and this may necessitate use of one of the handwheelsindependently of the other so as to increase or decrease the depth ofcorrugation at one side of the web.

If a foreign body or an excessive thickness of material (such as adouble thickness of paper caused by overlapping and gumming the ends oftwo webs) passes between the rollers, the adjustable roller can bepressed away from the opposed roller, the compression springscompressing to allow the yielding movement. In that case each of thenuts, with the wormwheels formed thereon, will be thrust back from theirfixed stops, and the wormwheel in each device may then be movedrelatively to its worm, but returns into full operative engagement assoon as the roller returns by spring pressure to its proper position.

The compression spring is also adjustable by a device 26 at any timeduring running of the machine to vary the force it exerts on the rod.This adjustment is provided for by a threaded cap which fits over asleeve surrounding the spring to form part of the spring housing, thecap being capable of being screwed up or down the sleeve to vary thecompression of the spring.

What we claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patentis:

1. Apparatus comprising an adjustable roller, a roller opposed thereto,a mounting for said adjustable roller, a member connected to saidmounting and movable endwise to move the adjustable roller toward andaway from said opposed roller, said member comprising a first threadedpart and a cooperating threaded part having threaded engagement withsaid first threaded part, a fixed abutment engageable with saidcooperating threaded part to limit endwise movement of said member in adirection such as to move said adjustable roller toward said opposedroller, resilient pressure means urging said member in said directionand thereby urging said cooperating 11 readed part against saidabutment, said pressure means being capable of yielding so as to allowthe adjustable roller to be pressed away from said opposed roller byexcessive pressure on said adjustable roller, and whereby relativerotation of said threaded parts effects endwise movement of said memberto move said adjustable roller toward or away from said opposed roller.

2. Apparatus comprising an adjustable roller, a roller opposed thereto,a mounting for said adjustable roller, a member connected to saidmounting and movable endwise to move the adjustable roller toward andaway from said opposed roller, said member comprising thereon inengagement with said first named gear teeth, said shaft being rotatableto rotate said nut on said screw to cause endwise movement of saidmember; a fixed abutment engageable with said nut to prevent movement ofthe latter with said member in a direction such as to move theadjustable roller toward the said opposed roller, but permittingmovement of said nut with said member in the reverse direction; andresilient pressure means urging the said nut in the first said directionagainst said abutment, said pressure means being capable of yielding toallow the said adjustable roller to be moved away from said opposedroller by excessive pressure, the said gear teeth on said nut beingcapable of moving with said member relatively to the gear teeth on saidshaft when said adjustable roller is so moved by of subsequentlyreturning to driving engagement when the said nut returns intoengagement with said abutment.

3. A device as claimed in claim 2 including pivoted arms wherein theadjustable roller is mounted so that the roller is adjusted towards oraway from the opposed roller by swinging about the pivots and the saidmember is pivotally connected to the mounting for the adjusting rollerto permit rocking of the member when it is moved lengthwise by the nut,and wherein the nut comprises a convex surface engaging a correspondingconcave seating formed on the said fixed stop, so arranged as to permitthe nut to rock about the centre of the wormwheel, whereby the lattercan remain in operative engagement with the worm in different angularpositions of the said member.

4. A device as claimed in claim- 3 wherein the teeth of the Wormwheelare curved to an are about the centre of the wormwheel.

5. A device as claimed in claim 4, wherein able roller is provided witha pair of adjusting devices, one at each end of the roller, and the twodevices are capable of being operated either independently or inconcert, the worrns of the two devices being mounted on a common shaftand one of the worms being rotatable relatively to the shaft forrotation independently of the other worm, and capable of being locked onthe shaft so as to be rotated by the shaft in concert with the otherworm.

the adjust- References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATESPATENTS

